The Spark
by ChatterBOXX
Summary: His life is filled with temptation and pressure. He is pressured by his brother to steal and question authority, he is pressured by his father to perfect an art form that he finds unsatisfying, and he pressures himself to gain understanding and meaning in his changing world. The path he was choosing in life was leading to disaster until one man offers him a key to salvation.
1. Chapter 1

**The Spark**

**Chapter One: ** A Change in the Air

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_I am not the owner of the Ninja Turtles._

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With shaking hands, wandering eyes, labored breathing, and twitching fingers, Fox swiftly grabbed a handful of organic red apples and stuffed them silently into the over-sized pockets of his coat. He waited for the world to end. For the hand of his father or oldest brother to smack the back of his head with righteous zeal. The fruit stand owner to grab him by the neck and shake the stolen goods out of him. NYPD at least.

Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing.

No one came, no one grabbed him, no one shouted, no one noticed. It was just himself standing in front of some fruit stand, one of the many at the bi-monthly farmer's market feeling like a complete idiot. It was a miracle that no one had noticed what he was doing; he was no expert.

He remembered the advice that his brother, Skull, had given him a few days prior. "Act natural and look like you are just browsing the merchandise, like you are thinking really hard about what you want to buy. Don't be afraid to touch and smell stuff, throws them off your trail."

Sure.

The advice was easier said than done. So there he stood, smelling, inspecting, and looking perplexed at the various stands filled with various produce and other yummy products that people had labored over and were selling looking to make a honest wage. As he kept up this act, he was sneakily stuffing his pockets full with food.

Skull told him that it was okay to do this. Their family was suffering. Due to slight food shortages and increased prices, their father, although he tried very hard, was not able to provide him and his three other brothers with enough food to survive comfortably. They were growing boys and ate constantly. As he stole, going against all the teachings his father had bestowed upon him, he was surprised that nothing happened. Just like their suffering in the sewers of New York, the world continued and took no notice.

Life goes on.

He quietly moved to the next stand. He stuffed his pockets with carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, and bags of handpicked mixed nuts. His movements were swift and calculating and he made sure to keep constant visual on the rapidly changing environment.

His brother Skull filled him with good advice, and he got the feeling that he may have been a semipro at shoplifting. "Hey, make sure you grab Leo's coat. It is bigger on you and his pockets are large. If you wear that, it won't look like you are holding anything."

Strawberries, a bag of dried blueberries, miniature oranges. One by one, he grabbed fistfuls of goods and stuffed them deeper and deeper into his growing pockets.

Looking up, he could see Skull weaving in and out of the meat stands grabbing a fish or two at one, a small chicken at another, and a small container or eggs at another. His bright red sunglasses and confident smirk were clear despite their distance.

Potatoes, kale, broccoli.

He saw Skull make his way to the entrance of the farmers market where they kept all of the baked goods, and he knew that that was his cue to hurry up and leave. Before their "mission," he was told that they were going to grab two loaves of bread each off the cart. He was supposed to follow the lead of his older brother and grab the bread without stopping. His brother emphasized that point countless times. No one monitored the cart, so it would be a piece of cake. They cleared the cart and grabbed two steaming large loaves of bread without slowing down. He waited for someone, anyone, to stop them. Two thieving oddly dressed children who were robbing innocent people. No one came, and the world, just like them, kept on moving.

Outside of the farmers market, the cool air sent chills down their spines as they sped walked away. Beads of sweat rolled down his face, pooling at the base of his neck. He couldn't believe what he had done. Once they made it to the end of the street, they broke into a dead sprint and didn't stop till they made it to the manhole cover that would lead them home. The laughed, whooped, and galloped, feeling free and valiant because even though they broke many rules and laws, their family would survive another month. They lifted the cover, and quickly climbed down the metallic ladder and welcomed the warm moist air the sewers provided them.

They laughed and Fox welcomed the approving pat on the back of his shell. They pumped their fist and shouted into the darkness while pointing fingers towards the surface world, mocking its inhabitants and their lack of observation and intelligence.

"The city is our, its all ours!" Skull shouted while spinning in a valiant circle.

"The city is ours?" Fox said, turning to his brother with questioning eyes,

"It sure is, bro. If we, a couple of kids, a couple of mutated freaks can walk up in there and take a crap load of stuff right under their stuffy big fat noses, we can do anything and everything. We have nothing to fear and nothing or no one can stop us. We are not babies anymore!"

Smiling from ear to ear, Fox shouted and yipped with glee.

They were not babies anymore. They just had their eleventh birthdays, and were ready to tackle the world head on. They noticed that the fears they used to have were diminishing and people were not as large as they used to be. Their father was not as intimidating, and they were slowly gaining the courage to do things they had previously dreamed about. Groundings, spankings, timeouts, and scolding's were not weapons anymore. Their code names, Skull and Fox were symbols of their abandonment of childhood. Words could not express the changes that were taking place within the lives of these two boys.

Fox noticed the change the most in his older brother. His brother would boldly defy any form of authority. He would proudly talk back to their father and their oldest brother. He would intentionally break rules and test boundaries. To the rest of our family, he is still known by his birth name, Raphael Hamato, but as he bravely roamed the sewers and the streets of New York stealing candy, food, or whatever he deemed useful. To Fox, the immediate younger brother, he transformed into his codename, Skull.

Fox didn't have the same nerve as Skull, and he knew that the changes they were experiencing were taking them to different places. He was not sure where they were going, but he was for certain that they were not where they used to be. The events that took place in the farmer's market were only the start of many. In their future, the two young boys saw bigger stores, vandalism, cars, late nights from home, and freedom.

Since they were new, new to this life, new to the changes, new to their shifting world, they decided to go by their new names...

Raphael Hamato became Skull, and Donatello Hamato became Fox.

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**A/N: Wow...it has been a while...I can't believe how long its been since I've posted on this site. I am going to use this summer as the opportunity to finish those stories that troubled me, and begin new ones that I have been itching to write. What do you all think of this story so far? Please read and review, and as always, constructive criticism is welcomed.**

_~CB_


	2. Chapter 2

**The Spark**

_Chapter 2:_ _A Taste of the Future_

I do not own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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Carefully climbing down the last few steps of the grimy ladder that served as a one of the main access points to the lively surface world above, Fox landed swiftly onto the damp cobbled floor below. His heart raced, his hands trembled, and sweat was dripping down his eagerly grinning face yet again. He looked at his older brother with admiration filling his youthful eyes to the brim, and marveled at how calm Skull was given the feat that they accomplished

They were in their hideout yet again, sweaty, hearts racing, breathing heavily, and letting the large amounts of adrenaline leave their trembling young bodies because they had successfully shoplifted a large amount of items from the local convenience store. Skull decided that they needed to switch up their normal routine. To him, it was not challenging enough because, let's face it, a farmers market does not offer the highest level of security.

Smiling triumphantly at his younger brother, Skull straightened out, confidently grabbing the lapels of his worn tan overcoat. Leaning into Fox, he coolly whispered, "D'wanna see what I boosted from the store?" His brother's silent and eager nod was all he needed and he opened his jacket grinning at his Fox's gasps of shock and awe.

Hiding under his over-sized overcoat, like their identities, a secret from the world, were two large cloth sacks that served as the inner lining of his coat. The two other pockets were attached to these large inner pockets causing whatever to be put in them to disappear into a place that only Skull, and now Fox, knew about. It was a clever idea.

The cloth sacks bulged and Fox for the life of him could not understand how his brother was able to move so casually because from the sheer sight of the bags alone, he knew that his brother was being weighed down with various treasures.

It took Skull a good twenty minutes to empty his pockets and separate the goodies into neat piles. Fruits, vegetables, breads, pastries, soups, candies, juice packets, meats, supplies, and various other items all found their way into his possession. Every item was categorized and put into its respected pile. From there, he decided what was going back to the lair for their family, and what was going to stay in their secret hideaway.

"What did you manage to swipe, bro?"

Hesitantly Fox began emptying out his coat pockets. The thought of sewing extra cloth to the inside of his jacket to create deeper pockets never crossed his mind. He was only able to grab what the pre made pockets of his trench coat could carry, and he knew that the amount paled in comparison to his brother's. Slowly, he began digging his hands into his pockets and grabbing the items. One by one, he laid them out on the ground below. When he finished he was disheartened by how small his pile looked and avoided eye contact.

"Hey," he felt his brother rest a hand on the back of his shell, "you did great, this is the most stuff you have ever snagged!"

The two boys sat staring at each other for a few moments. Skull reached over into his pile and grabbed a butterfingers candy bar and offered it to his younger brother. With a mischievous smile that was so characteristically his, he quipped, "Wanna celebrate?"

So there they sat, sitting side by side in their secret hideaway on worn bean bag chairs that they looted from the dumpster. They munched on the various treasures they acquired from a hard days of looting while sharing stories and bragging about close encounters with employees and other humans that may or may not have happened. As the candy pile slowly diminished, in their eyes, their future was beginning to taste a bit sweeter. They talked about what they were going to do when they returned home, while also working on the story they were going to tell their family about how they yet again acquired their loot.

"I am so tired of living at home, there are so many rules. When I turn fifteen, I am going to leave," Skull huffed.

"You can't leave; Master Splinter will never let you. I'd never leave."

"Sure he will. I am just going to walk right up to the old rat, look him square in the eyes, and tell him that I think his rules are stupid, the homework he makes us do is stupid, the training sessions are stupid, and that Leo is stupid. Then I am going to walk right up to Leo and punch his teacher's pet self in the face."

"You wouldn't dare," Fox gasped.

"I sure to would dare. Then after that I am going to get a motorcycle or one of those expensive cars, like a Mercedes, or a Mustang, or a Bentley, and I am going to ride until I see the other half of the world. Then I am going to take whatever I can from wherever I can and then I am going to find myself a giant house to live in. After all that is done, I am going to buy the world's largest box of pizza and eat it all by myself."

"A whole box of pizza by yourself?"

"Yep. Every single cheesy slice."

"Wow, that sounds like some plan," said Fox with a hint of admiration at his brothers bravery in his voice, "hey, it's getting late, we should probably start heading back to the lair, we don't want anyone to get suspicious."

With that, the two brothers gathered up their belongings and solidified the story they were going to tell their father. This time, they were going to convince everyone that they acquired all of the food and supplies from a local church and food bank.

As they walked, Skull rambled on about what he was going to do as soon as he turned of age and what he wanted his ideal future to look like. He was tired of hiding, tired of being tucked away underground like some hideous monster. He loathed the surface world but at the same time he wanted to be a part of it. To cause havoc, taste adventure, or create ripples in the monotonous stream, Fox was unsure.

"I know you wouldn't, but what would you do if you left the lair?" Skull questioned his younger brother.

The silence that followed was painful, and Fox didn't quite know what to say. He had never put any serious thought into leaving because he knew that the sewers were probably the best place for his family; they didn't know anything else. He wanted to be more adventurous like his immediate older brother, but at the same time, he knew he was not quite as brave yet. He had never imagined himself anywhere else other than where he was in this present moment, and that thought scared him a little.

"I don't know," he said.

"Well, you can always tag along with me," chirped Skull.

Stopping at the front door of their home, Fox turned around to face his brother. His brother's face was filled with complete compassion and sincerity. He knew that joining Skull as a "partner in crime" was the obvious choice for his older brother, but for him, he wasn't so sure. He thought about his offer for a moment and scrunched up his face into deep thought. He didn't know what he wanted to do, but he knew that he wanted to please his brother. Placing a tender hand on the front door, he looked over his shoulder and said, "Yeah."

Pushing the door open and disappearing into the soft golden glow of the home, he left his brother behind to decipher what exactly he meant by his response.

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**(A/N) **Here is chapter two of _The Spark_, and I hope you all enjoy it. Please _read and review_! Constructive feedback is always welcomed.


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